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Who could fail to be entranced by the tale of the faithful hound Gelert, slain in error by his master Llywelyn the Great, Prince of Gwynedd? According to the story, Llywelyn returns one day from hunting to find his baby son missing from his cradle and is greeted by his wolfhound Gelert, his face smeared with blood. Believing the dog to have killed his son, Llywelyn draws his sword and slays him. Only then does he hear the cries of the baby, lying unharmed beneath the cradle – next to the body of a huge wolf. Overcome with remorse, Llywelyn buries the dog and, it is said, never smiles from that day forth.
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